The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee generated over $1.5 million from the fundraiser, The New York Times reported — meaning it was at least a partial success, but over a dozen of the $10,000-a-plate seats were left unfilled even after staffers filled empty seats. (Guests could also pay $35,800 to meet Buffett.)

The difficulty filling Manhattan's Four Seasons restaurant — even with the Oracle of Omaha as a headliner — underscores the difficulty for Obama at luring Wall Street's money for his reelection campaign.

Jim Chanos, the billionaire hedge fund manager and short seller, was among the best known attendees, and bank executives were noticeably absent from the fundraiser.

One Democratic Party official tried to pin the underwhelming turnout on the Rosh Hashanah holiday, which ended Friday night.

But reports of Obama backers defecting to the GOP are hard to ignore — especially news that JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon was spotted meeting with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney last week.